


The Taste of Madeleines

by Elizabeth Culmer (edenfalling)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bittersweet, Childhood Memories, Female Friendship, Friendship, Gen, Memories, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Post - Deathly Hallows, Prompt Fic, Scents & Smells, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-01
Updated: 2014-11-01
Packaged: 2018-02-23 11:14:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2545511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edenfalling/pseuds/Elizabeth%20Culmer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Luna and Ginny discuss the qualities of Wrackspurt-repellent shampoo.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Taste of Madeleines

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rthstewart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rthstewart/gifts).



> This ficlet was written for [rthstewart](http://rthstewart.dreamwidth.org), in response to the prompt: _Harry Potter, Luna Lovegood, Wrackspurts and brain farts_.

"Luna, have you seen the-- er-- the-- you know, the-- oh, Merlin kiss a toad, I know there's a word and I know that I know it, and why can't I dig it _out_ of my _brain?_ "

Luna looked up from her eggs and toast to see her flatmate gesticulating in the air above her head, as if grasping for a flyaway thought.

"Your hiring packet is on the sofa underneath the green pillow with the embroidered purple potato," she said. "I keep telling you, if you used my mother's special Wrackspurt-repellent shampoo you wouldn't have these problems."

"Thanks, Luna, you're a lifesaver," Ginny said as she dug out the large envelope the Holyhead Harpies had sent the day before. "And I keep telling you, if you'd give me the recipe so I can brew a version with a different, quieter scent, I'd be happy to switch. But I'm not going to walk around smelling of peppermint all day long."

Luna caught a hank of her own hair between her fingers, twisted it and raised it to her face. She breathed in and remembered her mother's smile when she'd brewed the first batch of shampoo, and the gentle pressure of her fingers over Luna's scalp when she was still too young to be trusted alone in the slippery porcelain bathtub. She'd always carried peppermints in her pockets. Luna had stolen her dresses after she died and slept with them under her pillow, one by one, day by day, until they lost their scent.

She tucked her hair behind her ear.

"I think I'd like to smell of flowers," Luna said. "Or maybe rain. But not yet."

"Yeah, I hear you. Don't let me push you into letting go before you're ready," Ginny said as she tucked her envelope into her satchel. "Besides, it's okay if I blank out now and then. I have you to remember for me." She Apparated out with a _crack_ of displaced air, stirring irregular currents all through the flat.

Luna breathed in the faint scent of Ginny's own strawberry shampoo, and smiled.


End file.
